Jo Fairley

Entrepreneur, Judges Bakery, The Wellington Centre

In 1991, Jo Fairley co-founded the pioneering organic chocolate company Green & Black’s (with her husband Craig Sams), which has now gone on to be ‘bigger than Marmite’ (in sales terms) and ‘cooler than Prada’ (Coolbrands 2007/2008); in the Coolbrands Survey 2009, Green & Black’s was the only food brand in the top 20.

In 2005, the brand was sold to Cadbury’s, but Jo remains in an ambassadorial role, travelling the world as the brand grows internationally in countries including the US and Australia. In 2008 Jo and her husband Craig Sams collaborated on Sweet Dreams: The Story of Green & Black’s (Random House).

Jo now runs Judges Bakery - an organic one-stop shop - and The Wellington Centre, an 11-room ‘boutique’ wellbeing centre, in her home town of Hastings. She continues to juggle this with her writing career: although she left school at 16 (with six ‘O’ Levels), by the age of 23 Jo was the youngest-ever magazine editor in the UK, editing first Look Now and then Honey Magazine. She is a Contributing Editor to the Mail on Sunday’s YOU Magazine, as well as to a very wide range of publications including the new National Geographic Green. In May 2014 Jo launched The Perfume Society (www.perfumesociety.org), turning a life-long passion into a website which embraces the world's first appreciation society for fragrance-lovers.

She is the co-author (with Sarah Stacey) of the bestselling Beauty Bible series of books, the world’s bestselling beauty books, including: The Beauty Bible, Feel Fab Forever: The Anti-Ageing Health & Beauty Bible, The 21st Century Beauty Bible, The Handbag Beauty Bible and most recently The Green Beauty Bible, which combines her ‘green’ expertise with her insights into the beauty world. She is also author of The Ultimate Natural Beauty Book.

For eight years Jo chaired the Soil Association’s Health Products Standards Committee, helping to set the standards for organic and natural bodycare in the UK. She is a ‘matron’ of the Women’s Environmental Network, runs makeover workshops for young women at Centrepoint and sits on the Human Rights Watch Film Festival committee.

"Jo met the brief and event objectives 100%. She handled everything with the up-most professionalism and her comments were enlightening." Jergens Naturals

“Jo met our objectives very well - she was an excellent speaker, engaging, on subject and very motivating”.T Mobile

“Jo was well prepared for presentations she delivered, a delight on-site to work with, and inspired our audience” Venture Marketing Group

“Jo was excellent – she spoke well and what she said was entirely relevant for the audience, and she had a lot good feedback from those present” The Solus Club 2014